Bifuncticnal storage battery



Feb. 17, 1925. 1,526,539

J. W. FRASER BIFUNCTIONAL STORAGE BATTERY Filed May 4, 1922 D ARc mc.

FOR HARGING FROM LIGHT/HQ CIRCUIT wvcawtoz CFW- FR AeJiR SF W. FRASER,

IBIFUNCTIQNAL STGRAGT.

Application me sta 4,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Joe W. Fsesss, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cieveiend, in the county of Cuyahoge and State of 'Uhio, have invented certain new and usefui improvements in s Bifunctionai Storage Battery, of which the following is e specification.

My object is to provide a. sit'npie and novel electrical storage battery "for radio and other uses, predicating toe invention on the idea. of assembling any desired number of pistes and seeiing rings siternsteiy in separable union to produce a series of cells or chambers e in which separate bodies of dilute sulphuric and other solutions may be sequestered from each other out used coiieccharging and discharging operaiss constructed the battery is reistiveiy light and compact and port-side and siso cowenient "'o iiandie Without spiiiing or of breakage. extended or contracted in length meet varying requirements and uses, and is particularity constructed to perunit it to be charged by either direct or alternating current. This feature alone increases the field usefulness of the battery, and the rectifyi; g means to permit the use of eiter rooting current in cherging is incorporated Within and forms a pert of the battery itself Without affecting or preventing charging with direct current. its arranged and usseinbied the pistes ere bi-functionsi, being positive on one side and negative the other, or side being the snode and the other cathode, thereby reducing the number r piste units and economizin in space considering the ve tege derived i'rom :1 given number of such units. The dimensions of the setter ere also reduced be cause of the eiimiriation of separs w conteiners or rfeceptscies of glass, rubber, or ceiiuioid for the pistes, thereby aiso avoiding the risk of breaking such conteineis the of lip-k454i? incident thereto. In brief, is constructed according to my invention is cansoie of rough usage. and eithougii pe rticuia designed for radio WOIk it can be used ior eiectric beiis, teiephones, or Wherever direct current is required.

In the annexed dressing, Fig. 1 is a top view 0; bettery,'end Fig. 2 a verticsi no 'tion thereof on line 2-2 of JFig. 1. I lg. 3 is 9. cross section on iine 3-3 of 1. Figs. 4} end 5 hrs pers iective views seemwe. semi ssseie.

pressibie rubber ring and a. iced plate, respectiveiy which when clamped together in muitipie form e complete secondary batter Without the use of s {768591 or container.

Thus. in constructing a battery i eniniov any desired number of round ieed plates 2 which are either fashioned on their opposite fist sides to receive and retain a paste or are formed with faces of active materiai by the Pisn't method. As shown the opposite sides of each plate 2 comprise concentric ribs or corrugations 3 from the center to the circumference except Where a fist border surface 4 having e, circuier groove 5 is retained or produced. A iug or terminsi 5 extends radially outward from the oirculer dge of piste 2 which be cast or molded or pressed in dies from sheet iced. and in e smsii sineii or diameter.

Another see" sists of s fist is enough to be cornpressib diameter or of siigiitiy isrger diameter than piste 2. A iiiiing and ven tends through the upper sid s u osinieeeiy two inches in e a. tapered 'Wsii or dare 8 tegreiiy with thecircuier body this ring Within the bottom side of its c at round opening chemise? 9. his on or dam 8 extends uptverdiy into 013331ini or lesser distance where it so P er when the iiquid ievei in the r member :3 drone the crest of this Waii.

h w H and it siso sesves separate the e ecert lead pistes that active nieterisi feiimg from either piste can not coiiect Witin the bottom. of opening 8 to short-circuit tery consisting of any given number pistes and rings pieced eiternsteiy face to iece cislnped tightiy toge As shown the drawing set of iced pistes end rubber r' igs 'ay clamped 'Logetiier ivy connecti Iv separate end p stes 10 of steei by series of brass or e" tie rods 11 tie'iotening nuts 12', the tie ro is eiso servi to eiign and support the rubber rings and the interposed iesd plates in upright or verticai position. These tie rods may be covered with insulating nieterisi. and short iegs 18 may also be secured to the outside of the clamping piste 1G by the same tie rods and nuts. For convenience in hendiing the battery end to maize it ebsoiuteig stable ova steel ttery tins piste is reistiveiy the legs may rest u on and be fastened to a flat base 14 of woo or insulating material, although thesteel end plates may be square or other shape and provide stable rests without a base.

In order to insulate the active element of the battery from the steel end plates 10, I may interpose in the assembly two end rings 6 of rubber, or I may use any other suitable insulating element or material at this place instead. 7

A pair of aluminum plates and I6,

respectively, are also clamped in series with the bi-functional lead plates, of this bettery, and preferably at opposite ends of the battery; Thus, the aluminum plate 15 is clamped between the last two rubber rings 6 and 6 adjacent the last lead plate 2 at the right 01 the battery, andthe other aluminum plate 16 is clamped between the second rubber ring 6 and the second lead plate 2 at the left of the battery. The openings or chambers 9 in the rubber rings 6 and 6 are exposed to the aluminum plates 15 and 16, respectively, and an ammonium phosphate or other alkali solution is confined. within these two chambers, whereas all the other chambers intermediate the lead plates are filled with an electrolyte which may be a liquid or semi-liquid solution, or a gelatinous substance. The aluminum plates in the presence of an alkaline solution have .the property of permitting an electric current to travel through the alkaline solution toward the aluminum but not in the opposite direction, in this way rectifying an alternating current into a pulsating direct current and making the battery self-rectifying. The 'efiiciency of the rectifying agent may be low, inasmuch as the number of ampere hours. demanded of a radio or similar battery is small and the charging rate is also small; in other words, the advantage of being 'able to charge the batte by either alternating or direct current rom any lighting circuit is an advantage which more than ofl'sets a low efficiency rectifying agent. In this connection it should also be understood that the battery is used or provided with afix'ed resistance 18 between aluminum plate 15 and the chargin post '19 to cut down the voltage from t e lighting circuit to that required for the battery.

The lugs or terminals on alternate lead plates are placed at diverging an les at the upper side of the battery to facilitate the attachment of clips or connectors without interference, and this setting is obtained before the parts .are tightly clamped together by merely turning or rotating-the.

plates in opposite directions untilthe lugs are placed in the desired angular relations. Any number of the plates and cells may be connected in series, to obtain any voltage lyte chambers masses may be inserted into the filling opening in each rubber ring, and these openings may also be used in testing the electrolyte.

Rectifying may also be accomplished by omitting aluminum late 16, lead plate 2 and ring 6", usin or y one aluminumplate 15 and the alkadi solution within rubber ring 6*.

What I claim, is:

1. A bi-functional storage battery, comprising a series of alternately-arranged active plates and chambered insulating members clamped together and providing separate cells for the electrolyte between adja= cent plates, each plate having a terminal lug and the lugs on alternate plates being arranged in ofiset relation.

2. iii-functional storage battery, comprising a series of active plates each having a projectin lug, a series of rubber rings having ba e walls, and means adapted to clamp said plates and rings alternately side by side with the lugs on alternate plates oil'- set on diverging lines, the spaces between the plates forming sub-divided sealed cells adapted to contain an electrolyte.

3. A bi-functionalstorage battery, comprising'a series of active plates having terminal lugs, a series of rubber spacing rings having filling openings therein, and means adapted to clamp said plates and rings alternately side by side to provide separate sealed electrolyte chambers in the rings betweenadjacent plates.

4. A bi-functional storage battery, comprising a series of active lates and rubber spacing rings arranged si e by side to provide a series of electrolyte chambers, and current rectifying means, all said parts being clamped together to provide a self-rectifying battery.

5. A bi-functional storage battery, comprising a series of active plates and an aluminum plate mounted in spaced insulated relation to provide a series of electroand .'an alkaline solution chamber.

6. A bi-functi'onal storage battery, comprising round lead plates, relatively thick rubber rings interposed between said plates to provide electrolyte chambers, an aluminum plate and spacing rin adjacent one of said lead plates to provi e an alkaline solution chamber, and means adapted to clamp said plates and rings separably together. I

7. A bi-functional storage battery, comrising a series of lead plates and spacing insulating members interposed between said plates adapted to provide. electrolyte chainof the series of such lates to provide an alkaline solution cham r at one end of the battery.

8. A bi-functional storage battery, comprising a series of active plates in spaced relation having aluminum plates associated with the active plates at opposite ends of said series to provide rectifying means within the battery adapting the battery to be charged with either direct or alternating current.

9. A bi-functional storage battery, comprising round lead plates having lugs, a series of rubber rings adapted to be interposed between said plates, said rings having filling openings centrally at their top and a bafile wall within the bottom side of the opening within the ring, and end clamping inclination in different directions and at opposite sides of the centrally located filling openings.

10. In a storage battery the combination of a pair of end plates and a number of normally vertical spacing blocks disposed intermediate said end plates, each of said spacing blocks being rovided with an aperture extending entire y through it and with a fillin hole emerging into said aperture, each 0 said apertures being of decreasing vwidth as it approaches its hole, a number of battery plates interposed between the spacing blocks and each provided with an anode face in proximity to one spacing block and with a cathode face in proximity to the next successive spacing block, and means for clamping together said spacing blocks and said battery'plates so as to render the same fluid-tight.

11. A secondary battery comprising in combination, a series of normally vertical frames, the aperture of each of said frames being of decreasing width as it approaches a corresponding vent opening provided in the upper part of the frame, a plurality of battery'plates interposed between said frames and cooperating therewith to form a plurality of receptacles for the electrolyte, and means comprising end members and tension rods connecting the same for clamping said frames and plates together.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JOHN W. FRASER; 

